Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to a soldering hand tool.
Description of Related Art
In general, soldering is carried out by securing two work pieces together and joining the two work pieces by melting a solder material between the work pieces. Typical soldering material is an alloy having a melting point lower than the work pieces being joined. Soldering tools may be used to heat up the work pieces and melt the soldering material. Soldering tools are embodied in a variety of configurations. Examples of hand-soldering tools include a soldering iron, soldering gun, soldering pen, soldering torch, and the like. Such tools commonly have an electrically-heated soldering tip, which may routinely be used to heat the two or more work pieces to be joined to form a soldered joint. Soldering may be used in electronics, plumbing, metalwork including jewelry, and other fields where joining two or more items, such as metal items, is desired.
In electronics soldering, a soldered joint preferably provides electrical conductivity across the joint and a sufficiently strong mechanical connection to maintain the soldered work pieces together. In other types of metal-working soldering, a soldered joint may preferably exhibit sufficient mechanical strength to hold the soldered work pieces in place with each other.
Work pieces can be secured to each other at a joint by soldering. If the two work pieces are wires, the wires may be twisted together. The work pieces can then be heated. In some forms, a flux material is applied to the heated work pieces. The solder material can then be applied to the heated work pieces, thereby causing the solder to melt and flow around the joint. The heat source may then be removed, while still holding the work pieces together until the solder metal has solidified and the soldered joint is stable. Work pieces are held together until the solder at the joint has sufficiently cooled. In some cases, if the work pieces move relative to each other while the solder is not cooled enough, the resulting joint may crack or otherwise become defective. Such a defective joint may be referred to as a “dry joint.” A dry joint may be mechanically weak and/or exhibit high electrical resistance relative to an ideal soldered joint